Amber Johnson said she was swindled out of thousands of dollars for a new garage for her special needs son Leevi.
"We paid a guy to fix our garage for the winter, so we didn't have to take snow off the car to take him to the hospital," said Johnson.
In June, that garage ? an unfinished, code-breaking mess that cost Amber thousands ? came down, thanks to the help of local unions.
Saturday, thanks to donated labor and materials from unions like Local 427, the new one is almost ready.
"Right now we're sheeting the roof. Gonna be tar papering it, roofing it, and siding it yet," explained Frank Dolinchek, union representative.
Demo crews, carpenters, and millwrights, have all volunteered their evenings and weekends to build the new structure.
"Something that needed to be done, you know. She got ripped off. She's in a bad position with her child," Dolinchek said.
4-year-old Leevi is strong enough now to help out, carrying drinks to the cooler for his new heroes.
"Mom, what they building?" asked Leevi.
"A garage. For me," he proudly announced.
And just in time for Amber to take him to his last heart surgery this October.
"Won't have to worry about the weather at all," Johnson said.
"It's a heartfelt project, and you can tell by the people that show up. I'm proud of all of them. Everybody that's put time into this, they get an attaboy," Dolinchek said.
Dolinchek said that it's important to research a contractor online or with the Better Business Bureau before hiring someone.
